Amir praises UN Syria aid
KUWAIT CITY, Dec 15, (Agencies): His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah on Friday sent a cable of congratulations to Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah on the approval of the Kuwait and Sweden-drafted UN Security Council Resolution No. 2449 on cross-border aid to Syrians.
In the cable, His Highness the Amir expressed his sincere congratulations over Kuwait’s successful diplomacy, along with Sweden, in handling the Syrian humanitarian file that led to the adoption of the UNSC Resolution No. 2449.
The resolution authorizes a one-year extension of crossborder aid deliveries to Syria.
His Highness the Amir applauded the strenuous efforts made by Sheikh Sabah Khaled, the ministry’s staff as well as Kuwait’s permanent mission in New York Ambassador Mansour Al-Otaibi and mission’s staff during discussions and consultations as well as listening to the views of different sides that culminated in the approval of the resolution.
His Highness the Amir expressed his hope that the newly adopted resolution would be implemented soon to ensure unimpeded access of humanitarian aid to millions of needy people in Syria.
His Highness the Amir also stressed the necessity of doubling efforts of UN so as to reach a political solution to the Syrian crisis.
His Highness the Amir, finally, wish every success to all Kuwaitis in order to serve the dear homeland and raise its status on different international arenas.
Moreover, His Highness the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah
and His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah sent similar cables to the Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled.
National Assembly Speaker Marzouq Al-Ghanim on Friday applauded the successful diplomacy of Kuwait and Sweden shown in the adoption last night of the UN Security Council Resolution 2449.
The resolution extends for one year the mandate for delivery of aid to Syrians across the borders and conflict lines.
In a cable to Sheikh Sabah AlKhaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, Kuwait’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Al-Ghanim said, “The efforts of the Ministry and of Kuwait mission to the UN bore fruit and led to the passing of the Resolution 2449 in collaboration with the friends in Sweden.”
“The success of the Kuwaiti diplomacy in the adoption of this vital resolution is a continuation of Kuwait’s policy of humanitarian intervention, particularly in relation to the Syrian dossier sponsored by Kuwait over the last six years,” he said, citing Kuwait hosting of a series of international humanitarian pledging conferences for Syria.
Al-Ghanim underscored the need to continue working with the international community to reach a durable political solution to the Syrian crisis and end the suffering of the Syrian people.
Kuwait has renewed support for all relief and medical workers and personnel in Syria where the nation has been tormented with wide-scale violence amid uncertainty since 2011.
Kuwait’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Mansour A. AlOtaibi expressed gratitude to states’ envoys who voted in favor of the UN Security Council (UNSC) Resolution 2449, which renewed mechanism of humanitarian aid deliveries in Syria.
The resolution, sponsored by Kuwait and Sweden, extended for one year the mandate specified in the Resolution 2165 for delivering the assistance to the Syrians – across borders and internal demarcation lines.
Ambassador Al-Otaibi, who was speaking at late Thursday’s UNSC session, during which the voting was held, noted the endorsement of the resolution came after weeks of deliberations among the UNSC members and the Syrian crisis stakeholders.
Adopting the resolution is quite necessary to ensure arrival of the humanitarian supplies at locations of millions in need in Syria, said Ambassador Al-Otaibi, also noting that with this move, the international community re-asserted necessity of distributing the supplies rapidly and without any obstacles.
Al-Otaibi regretted that this year witnessed continuity of the strife in Syria, remaining a threat to regional and international peace and security, “amid the Security Council inability to resolve the crisis.”
Recent escalation of violence in Deir Ezzor, Idlib and Aleppo proved that security in the country remained fragile and might deteriorate further, particularly in Idlib, populated by three million people, warned the senior Kuwaiti envoy, who also noted in this respect necessity of maintaining the Turkish-Russian accord to avert a humanitarian catastrophe in Idlib.
Parties of the strife must honor their obligations toward international humanitarian rights’ laws and those who perpetrated serious breaches of the human rights laws must be brought to account, the Kuwaiti representative said.
Turning to the plight of the refugees and the displaced, he stated that their return to their homes must be voluntary, honorable and according to relevant international criteria.
Urging the UNSC member states to act collectively, Ambassador Al-Otaibi has warned humanitarian conditions in Syrian will continue deteriorating unless a political settlement is reached in line with UNSC Resolution 2254 and the 2012 Geneva Declaration.
Kuwait’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah initiated a phone call to his Swedish counterpart Margot Wallstrom on Friday to discuss the Resolution 2449 passed by the UN Security Council.
The resolution, sponsored by Kuwait and Sweden, authorizes extension, for 12 months, of the mandate for cross-border delivery of aid to the Syrians.
During the conversation, Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled congratulated Wallstrom on Sweden successful hosting of the first round of intra-Yemeni consultation, according to a statement by the Kuwaiti Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
He appreciated Sweden’s contributions to the international efforts to resolve the Syrian and Yemeni crises.
On her part, the Swedish minister thanked Kuwait for its outstanding role to promote security and peace across the Middle East and beyond, the statement added.
The Arab Parliament urged the Arab League on Friday to reinstate Syria’s membership, which was suspended seven years ago, Egypt’s state news agency said.
The Arab Parliament’s call is a sign that the Arab League may move to reinstate Syria after it was suspended in November 2011 in response to the Syrian government’s violent attacks on protests.
For Syria to be reinstated, the Arab League must reach a consensus, though some Arab countries may express reservations but nevertheless allow the move.
Mahmoud Afifi, spokesman for Arab League Secretary General Ahmed Aboul Gheit, told Reuters he had no further comment and referred to statements by Aboul Gheit on the issue.
“The decision to suspend the Syrian seat in the Arab League was, in my opinion, a very hasty decision,” Aboul Gheit told the newspaper UAE-based Al Bayan in April.
Egyptian state-run media outlets have repeatedly called for Syria’s reinstatement over the last several months.
Elsewhere, US-backed, Kurdish-led fighters captured the last town held by the Islamic State group on Friday, after three months of ferocious battles in the militants’ single remaining enclave in eastern Syria, activists and Kurdish officials said.
The fall of Hajin marks an end to the extremist group’s hold over any significant urban area, which in three years shrunk from large swaths of Iraq and Syria the militants once held to this small enclave near the two countries’ shared borders.